Night Witch
Night witches are rare in the abilities to accurately detect Neuroi and launch a counter attack before they make contact. This ability to detect said invaders makes them important players in freeing the world from their stranglehold because of the Neuroi's natural camouflage against the black sky and/or in varying weather conditions. However due to the hours in which they must fly, Night Witches like Sanya V. Litvyak appear introverted and reclusive to their team mates, usually because by the time they return to the base from their nightly patrols, they're extremely tired, and tend to spend most of the daylight hours sleeping over socializing with the rest of their respective squadrons. Due to this unintentional delusion of other witches, Night Witches - like Sanya V, Litvyak and Heidemarie W. Schnaufer, desire to form relationships with other witches and the rest of their squadron. Because of the difficulty in this task, a 'Night Witch radio community' was quickly formed due to the ability of the witch’s radar, which allowed for both broadcasting and receiving long distance signals. As such, this power has given rise to the long distance friendship between Sanya V. Litvyak and Heidemarie W. Schnaufer, who relay signals from one to another during their nightly duties. .)]] Radar abilities The majority of Night Witches are able to produce a magical antenna. This allows them to detect enemy Neuroi before they are assailed by a nearby agent and counter attack with out the need for direct combat with the aggressor. The antennas are mainly based on the Lichtenstein radar design, adopted and used by the Luftwaffe from 1942 onwards, exceptions however exist, Heinrike Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein's radar manifests in the shape of a small tiara (based on the Morgenstern Morningstar radar), perhaps a physical reflection of her nobility, rank and self-worth. Alternatively the radar used by Jennifer DeBlanc manifests as a Plan Position Indicator (most likely that of the AN/APS-6 Intercept Radar) over her right eye, reminiscent of a heads up display and providing visual representations of targets out of her line of sight. Night witches with alternative skills In even rarer cases than merely possessing a physical antenna to detect Neuroi, are witches with the ability to operate even in the dark of night, using their sight, like Shimohara Sadako and Constantia Cantacuzino. Sadako's ability not only allows her to perceive long distances (similar to Sakamoto Mio's ability) but also grant her night vision, allowing her to view night as if it was day. While she is unable to pin-point local enemy Neuroi, it does allow her to partake in occasional night missions with a nearby night fighter unit and as such, she now has a battle record both with the night unit and her own Joint Fighter Wing. Despite possessing a physical radar, Heidemarie W. Schnaufer also has an aptitude for night vision, similar to Shimohara Sadako's, however her night vision allowed her to amplify the starlight of the sky, to see clearly in the darkness of night, though due to the natural strength of this inherited skill and also being too young to have a control over the ability, the amplified brightness of the sun caused damage to her eyes during daylight hours, leaving her with a requirement for glasses to correct her visual impairment. Development of the radar Until the magical radar was developed by the military, it was only possible to be a Night Witch effectively by having a night vision ability. However using sight alone at night had its limitations and as such, many countries rushed to develop a way to probe the darkness for enemy Neuroi. The first breakthrough in the development was made by an Fusoan electrical engineer and an inventor duo, Yagi and Uga. With this discovery, together they quickly produced the Yagi-Uda Type magical radar. While design was produced long before the start of the second Neuroi war, the Fusoan military did not become aware of it till early 1942. Quickly following suit both the Karlslandian and Britannian military soon developed the Lichtenstein Type used by Sanya V. Litvyak and Heidemarie W. Schnaufer and Air Intercept(AI) respectively. Liberion Night Witches meanwhile utilized the Plan Position Indicator (PPI) type magical radar (used by Jennifer J. DeBlanc). Night witch emblem The emblem used by the Karlsland Night Witches was designed by Victoria Mölders, the younger sister to a well known great war ace, Wera Mölders. Striker Units used by night witches Compared to the Karlslandian Night Witches, Sanya V. Litvyak is rather atypical. Karslandians have heavy-fighter type Striker Unit models like the Bf 110 and Ju 88 exclusively built for their night fighting demands. This gives them a greater load capacity and stronger shields, allowing the witches to carry heavier weapons and fly at longer ranges, though mobility and speed suffer as a result. These characteristics make night patrolling a difficult task to perform. The Orussian development in night warfare Striker Units on the other hand hasn't advanced nearly as much, forcing the Orussian Night Witches to make use of standard fighter-type Striker Units instead. Although the maneuverability and speed of these Striker Unit models are better, the Orussian Night Witches operate at much shorter operational ranges, with much lighter weapon loadouts and, compared to Karlslander units, weaker shields during night patrols. Like the Karlsland Witches, Liberion Night Witches seem to favor a heavy-fighter type approach to their Striker Units, Jennifer DeBlanc using an F7F-3N Tigercat model. Night Witches * Helmina Johanna Siglinde Lent (Karlsland) * Heidemarie W. Schnaufer (Karlsland) * Heinrike Prinzessin zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (Karlsland) * Edytha Prinzessin zur Lippe-Weissenfeld (Karlsland) * Aleksandra "Sanya" Vladimirovna Litvyak (Orussia) * Shimohara Sadako (Fuso) * Takami Tadae (Fuso) * Constantia Cantacuzino (Dacia) * Jennifer J. DeBlanc (Liberion) * Virginia Robertson (Britannia) * Petra Dunford (Britannia) * Cunningham (Britannia) Category:Night Witch Category:Strike Witch